World News Quick Take

Agencies

JAPAN

Abe visits Iwo Jima

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Iwo Jima yesterday to review efforts to recover the remains of those killed in fierce fighting on the Pacific island during World War II. He attended a memorial service to remember those who perished in the final months of the war. About 22,000 Japanese soldiers are thought to have died on the island, which is officially known as Iwoto, but the remains of most of them have yet to be recovered. In 2010, Tokyo launched a three-year project to recover more remains, saying it was a question of national duty to bring them back and lay them to rest.

NEPAL

TV talk show record set

Presenter Rabi Lamichhane has set the world record for the longest television talk show by staying on air for 62 hours and 12 minutes, organizers said yesterday. Lamichhane, a 36-year-old based in the US, returned to Kathmandu to stage the Lord Buddha Was Born in Nepal program, which took the Guinness world record late on Saturday night. “Our campaign was aimed to spread the message to the world that the Buddha was born in Nepal,” said Anil Joshi, chairman of News24, the television station broadcasting the program said, adding that the program also promoted tourism destinations. One hundred guests, ranging from former Maoist rebel leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal to local TV celebrities and ordinary people joined Lamichhane during the program. According to Guinness World Records rules, Lamichhane was allowed five minutes every hour for a break. Organizers said he ate some meals while interviewing guests, banked several of the slots for a longer rest period and otherwise survived on energy drinks. The show was live-streamed on the channel’s Web site and several partner Web sites.

PHILIPPINES

Hackers deface Web site

Suspected Chinese hackers defaced the Web site of the Philippines News Agency (PNA) yesterday, officials said, a possible repeat of cyber attacks last year also blamed on China during a territorial row. The state-run agency’s Web site temporarily displayed the Chinese flag and the text: “China Hacker EvilShadow Team, We are evil shadow. We are the team. We have our own dignity China Hacker Lxxker.” Asked if Chinese hackers were behind the attack, presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said an investigation was pending, but added: “The note left on the site tends to invite that conclusion.” Another government spokesman, Herminio Coloma, said the hackers group shared news of the attack via Facebook. “The site is working again now,” Coloma told reporters, but did not say how long it had been down. He added authorities were attempting to track down the group and had beefed up cybersecurity in the wake of the attack. The hacking came days after authorities arrested 12 suspected Chinese poachers whose boat ran aground in a protected coral reef in the Sulu Sea.

BELGIUM

Teens among bus crash dead

At least five people died and several were injured when a bus carrying Ukrainian and Russian teenagers crashed in the north, news media reported yesterday. Television stations RTL and RTBF said the Polish-registered bus was carrying about 40 Ukrainians and Russians aged between 15 and 17 years old. Three adolescents died as well as the driver and a chaperone, according to local media. Pictures showed the bus lying on its side below a bridge and then being righted by a crane. The accident occurred on a highway heading toward Antwerp at about 6:30am, police told the Belga news agency. Reports said no other vehicle was involved and the bus apparently swerved off the road through a guard rail and then ran down the embankment by the bridge. The immediate cause of the crash was unknown.